Many were thrilled to learn that the young and talented Willow Smith would be starring in the Jay-Z affiliated Annie remake. Unfortunately, that won’t be happening. Last week, news broke that the youngest Smith child would no longer be starring in the production due to the Sony Pictures believing that she had “outgrown” the part and was now too old to play a nine-year-old Annie. Will Smith, however had a fairly different story as to why his baby girl pulled out of the remake, reports Necole Bitchie. Check out what he had to say.

“In the past 18 months, I have spent a lot of time focusing on the emotional aspect of my life and my family. In 2010, in one year, our family had the ‘Karate Kid.’ we had ‘Whip my Hair,’ we had Hawthorne, and at the end of the year, we did the Nobel Concert when Barack Obama won his Nobel Peace Prize. Don’t be clapping yet, that wears you out. The thing that had become very clear to me is the danger of a material world and focusing so hard on coming up with money or a house or a job. You focus so hard on those things, and sometimes you can lose focus on why you are doing it in the first place. The only reason to do any of that is to have love,” he expressed.

It seems that Willow needed a break from show biz.

“Willow was supposed to be doing ‘Annie,’ we got Jay-Z to do the movie, got the studio to come in and Willow had such a difficult time on tour with ‘Whip my Hair’ and she said, ‘You know Daddy, I don’t think so’ and I said, ‘Baby, hold up! I said no,no,no, listen, you’ll be in New York with all of your friends and Beyoncé will be there. You will be singing and dancing,’ and she looked at me and said, ‘Daddy, I have a better idea, how about I just be 12.’”

“I’m really learning through Willow the necessity that we have to snap ourselves back and refocus on the emotional needs of the people that we love. Someone’s emotional needs can be very very different from your dreams and what you think they should be doing and where they are supposed to be.”

Since the success of “Whip My Hair”, Willow was certainly pushed into the spotlight and one can only imagine how much pressure that could be on a 12-year-old. It seems that she has made a wise decision.

What do you think of Willow’s decision to pull out?

Photo courtesy of WENN

Jazmine Denise is a news writer for Madame Noire. Follow her on Twitter @jazminedenise

Comment Disclaimer: Comments that contain profane or derogatory language, video links or exceed 200 words will require approval by a moderator before appearing in the comment section. XOXO-MN

http://twitter.com/MsRedboneBrite Tee Elyse

I love that she made that decision on her own! She has plenty of time and I’m sure a host more of opportunities to do something just as great!

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1212257289 Jocelyn Beverly

It is about time she just be a kid, there is plenty of time for her to do her thing, but you cannot get your childhood back! You look back and realize you did not hang out with your friends and do what young kids do and I think you need those things to be a well adjusted adult.

FromUR2UB

Oh, the luxury of being twelve. Good idea to let her take a break. Don’t want her to burn out from working before she’s even a legal adult.

http://twitter.com/pinkmackey Superfox Mackin

That baby is one smart cookie and she is so adorable too.

http://twitter.com/pinkmackey Superfox Mackin

That baby is one smart cookie and she is so adorable too.

Meyaka

Good for willow to slow her parents down.

Meyaka

Good for willow to slow her parents down.

Common Cent$

I for one am happy to see him admit this just goes to show that there is no perfect way to parent. He thought was helping by pushing her to her greatest potential and she was wise enough to tell him it was too much. The Smiths are always catching flack for one thing or another but I commend them for continuing to share themselves to the public.

Virgo72

I love her decision!!! So many child stars grow up to have so many issue, because they didnt wanna just be 12!!! Thats right Willow, enjoy your youth.

RaisedByCulture

Sometimes we parents get caught up on what we want and not what our children want. We need to listen to our kids more or sometimes step back and see what they need!

kierah

That’s a very mature decision on her part.

Na Na

That was such a great response from her. She’s like Beyonce??? Yeah I’ll stick with being 12!

mac

it’s a shame that the child has to be the one to suggest this.

Nisa

Wow! I read somewhere online that all the mess she had been doing the past year was a cry for attention and that she wanted her parents to parent, not be her friend. For her to say that is bad look on him and Jada. Seems like she just wants to be a little kid with a regular life and regular parents. There are plenty of celebs who allow their kids to attend school like reg kids and try to give them reg lives. Will and Jada need to get it together.

JaneDoe

I doubt it was Will.. Will lives that little girl.. To me it seemed more like Jada was trying to live through Willow

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1212257289 Jocelyn Beverly

I totally agree with you on that, I think it was her mom pushing her, she comes across as an overachiver, not that is a bad thing, but kids need to be kids. You are putting them in adult situations that they are not mentally able to handle.